Al’s March ’24 Market Watch

March, 2024
The Bridgewater Spring Market Is Here
Along with March and the hope of warmer weather, comes the spring real estate market. Historically, this is the time of year when there is an uptick in both available homes, and buyers looking to grab their dream home. But as readers of “Market Watch” and “Homes Sold” have come to understand, available homes are hard to come by in Bridgewater, and those that do come on the market are quickly snatched up in a very competitive arena.
Going into March there was only a 1.28 month’s supply of homes in the Township, slightly up from .88 month’s supply at the end of January. And as readers of “Market Watch” know, it takes a five to six month supply of homes for the market to be balanced between sellers and buyers.
The reason for the short supply is really two-fold. First is the “rate lock” effect. As detailed in last months edition of “Market Watch”, over 78 percent of home owners with mortgages have mortgages with interest under five percent. Very little incentive to move and have a higher rate. The second is that the new supply of available homes cannot keep up with how quickly demand is taking available homes off the market.
Going into March, there were 73 homes on the market. Five were condos or town homes, the remaining 68 were single family homes. Seems like a lot. However, 41 of those were under contract already; meaning an offer had been accepted, and the offer agreement finalized with the attorney review. They were now considered “under contract”, and unavailable for additional buyer showings.
For the majority of these, the next step is the wait for mortgage approval and the closing. So, over 56 percent of the homes on the market were basically off the market. In addition, five were in attorney review and would probably be under contract in a few days. So going into March, there were only 27 homes that were really available for potential buyers to see, and maybe make an offer.
Adding to buyer frustration was the limited availability of homes in preferred price ranges. There were only three homes priced under $400,000. And none were single family homes, all were condos or town homes. Three were three being offered between $400,000 and $499,999, and three more between $500,000 and $599,999. For buyers looking at a price point of between $600,000 and $699,999, the selection was also three. And for those looking in the $700,000 to $799,999 bracket, the choice was one. Three were available in the $900,000 to $999,999 range, and
11 were priced over $1 million. So, selection for buyers was slim.
The other factor is how quickly a home is gobbled up once it goes on the market. Of the 41 homes that were under contract going into March, 56 percent were under contract in 15 days or less. And 73 percent in under 25 days. That means, the home was listed, shown to potential buyers, received offers, decided upon an offer, and concluded the normal three day attorney review period. That is how fast homes are moving in the Township.
This spring market in Bridgewater should be great for home sellers as competition for available homes continues,
but frustrating for buyers looking for their ideal home.